FAA Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA)Aircraft Systems and InstrumentsEasy
A flight instructor explains to a student that the attitude indicator's gyro maintains a stable horizon reference even as the airplane pitches and rolls. This stability is primarily a result of which gyroscopic property, aided by an erecting mechanism that corrects small precession errors?
- ACoriolis effect
- BMagnetic dip compensation
- CGyroscopic precession
- DRigidity in space
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Rigidity in space
A spinning gyro resists changes to its plane of rotation, a property called rigidity in space. In the attitude indicator, an erecting (pendulous vane) mechanism continuously nudges the gyro to correct small drift errors caused by friction and precession, but the fundamental stabilizing property is rigidity in space.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Coriolis effect relates to earth rotation and long-range navigation, not gyro stability.
- B. Magnetic dip affects compasses, not gyroscopic instruments.
- C. Precession is the tilting response to a force, not what keeps the gyro stable.
Rigidity in Space
The property of a spinning gyroscope that causes its axis of rotation to remain fixed in space unless acted upon by an outside force.
- Basis for attitude and heading indicators
- Erecting mechanisms correct small drift
- Precession is the gyro's response when a force is applied
Memory trick: 'Rigid gyro stays put until pushed'